{"id":119565,"date":"2019-02-20T13:30:05","date_gmt":"2019-02-20T18:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/?p=119565\/"},"modified":"2019-02-22T13:06:43","modified_gmt":"2019-02-22T18:06:43","slug":"sarah-sapora-wellness-fat-inclusivity-body-positivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/es\/journal\/sarah-sapora-wellness-fat-inclusivity-body-positivity\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m Fat and a Wellness Influencer. Here’s Why It Matters For You"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first time I went to a Kundalini yoga class, I was the only fat person in the room. I noted it and moved on; at a size 20, I am often the largest woman in the room. I\u2019m a bit fearless when it comes to trying new things, so it never phased me to feel odd as I stumbled and tripped over myself, finding modifications for Frog Pose where my stomach wouldn\u2019t get in the way.<\/p>\n

But I know, unlike me, that over 55 percent of women in the U.S. have admitted to having<\/a> \u201cabusive thoughts\u201d about their size; as a plus-size influencer, I can\u2019t tell you amount of times I have heard women tell me that being self-conscious about their weight stops them from trying new things, taking classes, going places, and experiencing moments in life that many people take for granted.<\/p>\n

I also noticed I was one of the older people in the room at classes\u2014which struck me odd, since the average age in the U.S. is 38<\/a>, and just over 50 percent of people are over 35.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d love to say these observations were anomalies… they weren\u2019t. The more time I spent immersing myself in holistic wellness, the more I noticed a discouraging lack of body diversity participating in practices. We\u2019re a country with a sea of colors, ages, sizes, and shapes\u2014and yet, at most places I\u2019d go, I\u2019d be the lone larger body in a sea of slender, athletic, and disproportionately youthful women.<\/p>\n

I am a 40-year-old plus size woman who works in self-love and wellness. I\u2019m a Kundalini yoga teacher, a public speaker, a writer, and event creator. I\u2019ve worked on social media serving size-inclusive groups of women with self-love and body positivity for over nine years. The number one comment I hear time and time again? \u201cIt\u2019s so great to see someone who looks like me doing things<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

My Personal Journey<\/h3>\n

In 2015, I was around 360 lbs; this number may not be fathomable to you, so let me put it in perspective by saying my body was regularly in so much pain that I was unable to walk a single NYC block without stopping.\u00a0 But the bigger problem, was that emotionally I felt like everyone was living, and I was just watching things pass me by in the fast lane. I needed more, but I was super scared to change.<\/p>\n

I started looking around online, in classes, or in the media; there was nobody I could identify with to show me it was possible to create change from the inside out without buying into diet culture. I needed to identify with someone that could make it safe for me to try new things. So I\u2019ve became the person I needed to see.<\/p>\n

The number one comment I hear time and time again? \u201cIt\u2019s so great to see someone who looks like me doing things<\/em>.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For the last three years, I\u2019ve shared my spiritual, fitness, and personal growth journey online, the highs and the lows. In the process, I have become someone who runs the only truly size-inclusive personal growth event in the market today. Because I know the truth: Body diversity and representation matters.<\/p>\n

\"woman
Sarah teaching her Body Love Workshop. Photo courtesy of the author.<\/div><\/div>\n

To be blunt: This matters even if you aren\u2019t fat.<\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. If we are alive on this planet, we\u2019re going to age.<\/li>\n
  2. Chronic illness affects more than 40 percent<\/a> of the population.<\/li>\n
  3. Over 19 percent<\/a> of people in the U.S. live with a disability.<\/li>\n
  4. Deaf and hard of hearing people are often \u201cleft out\u201d<\/a> of traditional wellness spaces.<\/li>\n
  5. 68 percent<\/a> of women in the U.S. wear a size 16 and above.<\/li>\n
  6. Nearly 40 percent<\/a> of Americans are obese.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Slender, young, seemingly \u201chealthy\u201d people are not the average in this country. And yet the wellness space can hardly be considered a welcoming or \u201csafe\u201d space for marginalized bodies. Even if you aren\u2019t plus size, there\u2019s a good chance you\u2019ll fall into one of those categories as you get older\u2014which means unless things change, consider yourself left out too. We\u2019re all in this together!<\/p>\n

    Wellness is for every body.<\/h3>\n

    Understand that when I say wellness<\/em>, I don\u2019t mean ads hocking weight loss products\u2014that\u2019s not wellness, that\u2019s Diet Culture<\/em>. There\u2019s a difference between the two, and the industry needs to evolve beyond the idea that \u201cthinner equals healthier.\u201d\u00a0Wellness is about creating wholeness in many areas of your life\u2014your body, your spiritual life, your personal life, physical life, occupational life, and more.<\/p>\n

    Let me be clear\u2014I do not have a problem with weight loss, and I am not, what some call, a Fat Activist. What I am is a person who believes that all bodies deserve access to tools and practices to help foster self-love and create change if they seek it.<\/p>\n

    I know the more we represent marginalized bodies engaging in wellness practices, the more we make it safer and accessible for more bodies to self-improve\u2026 And isn\u2019t that what wellness is all about in the first place?\u00a0All bodies deserve representation in the wellness space. As a plus size woman, I personally advocate for making wellness size-friendly.<\/p>\n

    \u21e2 What can we do to change the landscape?\u00a0\u21e0<\/h3>\n

    If you are a teacher…<\/h3>\n